Do You Know Why February 20th is a Very Important Day in Pop Culture History (at least for me)?

Show of hands—is it weird that the date February 20th is burned in my brain forever as the day that I saw New Kids on the Block in concert? The exact date is February 20th, 1990 and I saw Jordan, Jon, Joe, Danny and Donnie at the Miami Arena with my mom and group of close girlfriends.

NKOTB back in the late '80s. I definitely had a poster of this photo on my wall--in addition to about a zillion others!

I was 12-years-old, in the seventh grade and thought that these five guys and their music was the only thing that mattered in life. I managed to work a fact about the band into every conversation, adorned my bedroom with NKOTB pillowcases, posters, trading cards and dolls—and incorporated NKOTB clothing/accessories into my wardrobe everyday. I even sent an invitation to the guys to my Bat Mitzvah. Every day after school I ran to the mailbox eagerly expecting their response card to be waiting for me (it never came but didn’t diminish my love). I was their biggest fan and would challenge anyone that tried to claim that they were instead.

I can't find pictures from me as a 13-year-old fan but this is me at an NKOTB show about three years ago in one of my shirts from back in the day!

I actually saw the New Kids open for Tiffany in 1988 before anyone knew who they were. My friend Jessica and I were hooked. We loved the “little one” (Joey) and when we saw the cassingle (remember those!?) for “Please Don’t Go Girl” at the record store in the mall we literally screamed with excitement. And so, as the NKOTB’s star rose, so did my obsession. When tickets went on sale for their stop at the Miami Arena on February 20th, 1990, I spent the night in front of our local drugstore that had a Ticketmaster inside (another experience that has gone the way of the cassingle). I huddled in my NKOTB sleeping bag and prayed that because we were number three in line (there were girls that missed school to get in line early—that’s where my mom put her foot down) that the show wouldn’t sell out by the time we got to the front. We scored the tickets and the countdown for February 20th was on.

There are no photos of me at the show on February 20th, 1990 because there were no smart phones back then and so cameras were strictly forbidden. But this is me singing my head off at the NKOTB show three years ago. It's definitely exactly what I looked like in 1990! And, I still have the ticket from the Feb. 20th show even though the ink finally faded.

I think the reason that date still stands out is because for months, my friends and I talked about that date like it was a person. We couldn’t wait for February 20th to get here, we wondered how we would feel when February 20th arrived and what in the world we would do when it left and February 21st was here. We signed all the notes we passed in class with "Feb. 20th Rules!" instead of "Xoxo." I will say, the night did not disappoint. My dad had a limo company for a client and so we got to head to the show in style. We were all decked out in head to toe NKOTB wear (seriously, I had NKOTB earrings and a scrunchie in my crimped and gelled hair) and stuck our heads out the sunroof to scream to anyone on the road that would listen, “New Kids on the Block Rule!” The best was as we got closer to the arena, every car that passed us was filled with girls going to the show and they all thought we were the NKOTB. Of course we didn’t let them think otherwise.

This was not from the show I saw at the Miami Arena but it's pretty much exactly what they looked like!

Being a fan of the New Kids on the Block was a special time in my life. It’s how my friends and I bonded and what my parents rolled their eyes over. And, as crazy as it may sound, I believe it laid the foundation for my career. I love covering pop culture, celebrities and entertainment because I know what it’s like to not only be a fan but also really feel a connection. So while February 20th was the day I rode in a limo for the first time, cried my eyes out when the New Kids hit the stage and lost my voice for a week after spending two hours screaming my lungs out every time Jordan hit a high note or Donnie did something daring or Joey simply smiled—it was also the day that I learned the importance of the impact that a good moment in pop culture can make—and last for 22 years and counting!

And, this is not from the show I went to on February 20th but it was only a few weeks later from the same tour in New York! Enjoy!

So . . . who here is a fellow NKOTB fan? How many of you saw them back in the day? And, do you have any pop culture inspired dates that stick out for you the way this NKOTB concert stands out for me?